Servings per pound?

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dwolfpak

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Mar 26, 2013
108
19
Cottage Grove, MN
Hi all.

I am planning our family reunion, and I'm trying to figure out how many pounds of butt to get.  Any ideas on how many servings per pound you can get with pulled pork?  (Bone in of course)

Dan 
 
Dan, you can figure on 1/4 to 1/3 lb of cooked meat per person depending on what else is served. If there is any other meat or a lot of sides you can go on the lighter side.
You can figure on about a 60% yield from bone in Boston butts, so here's an example....
10 lb raw butt will yield about 6 lbs of cooked meat. 1/3 lb per person would be 6 (lbs) X 3 (servings per lb) = 18 servings from a 10 lb raw butt.
Always figure a little high because giving away leftovers is a lot better than running out!
 
Thanks alot S2K9K, thats a big help.  We got 60+ relatives coming.

One other question, I know it sounds like a dumb question, but I'm new to smoking so be gentle.

Cooking time:  say for example 1.5 hours / lb.  That is based on each individual roast, not total of all roasts in the smoker at one time.  Correct?
 
1.5 - 2 hours per pound is a good estimate at a smoker temp of 225*. I would figure on 2 hours per pound just to be safe, if it gets done early you can always hold it wrapped in foil in coolers with some towels for insulation and they will stay hot for hours.
Yes that time estimate applies to one butt but will also apply to cooking multiple butts. Multiple butts will probably take a little longer just because of the cold mass starting off but after everything starts coming up to temp a bit it will even out.

I have been smoking my butts a lot hotter lately because I got tired of waiting on a 9 lb butt taking 15 - 20 hours. I've been doing them at 275* and 9 lbers are getting done in just over 10 hours and have come out as good if not better than smoking at 225*. I've read a few other members on here going hotter and getting good results also. Just throwing my 2 cents out there!
 
So at the higher temp, is it still tender enough to pull?

Here's one I did, it was actually a pernil and I went 275* for the first 4 hours then backed it off to about 240* for the rest of the time and it was done in 10.5 hours. I've done a couple other butts at 275* and they came out just the same (sorry I didn't document them). If you scroll down the post #18 you will see how tender and juicy it was.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/133148/pernil-in-the-mini-becomes-a-cuban-sandwich
 
Oh Yea, if you take the internal temp (IT) to 195*-205* it will pull very easily!
 
 Hello, Dwolfpak . K9 has it covered well . Buut is very forgiving and one of the best large crowd meats you could use (besides Hotdogs and Burgers). Most any regime you use to get your Temp. will work.

Here is a shot of a load I did for a Wedding of 100.


5-10lb. Butts gave me 35lb. of meat . . .enough for 70 hardy eaters .

You'll be fine , have fun doing the Party(Wedding) , and as you do it  . . .
 
 dwolfpak,  I too have started upping the temp on butts.   As others have  stated,  I run mine around 250.  Around 10-11 hrs.  your done.     Only time it runs longer is if I do a full smoker, which is 14 butts.  Runs about 19hrs. 
 
Did not see what type of smoker you will be using.

I am in the cooking at 250-275 school of thought. I still plan on the 2hr per pound, like to have a buffer. I remove my butts/shoulders at 190-195 and allow carry over cooking to bring me home. I also do not foil mine. Cooking at a higher temp helps push through the stall.

I only mentioned the smoker because you do not want to over crowd your cook chamber. You will not get proper air flow and will result in uneven cooking. So you may need to batch cook depending on your smoker size.
 
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Did not see what type of smoker you will be using.

I am in the cooking at 250-275 school of thought. I still plan on the 2hr per pound, like to have a buffer. I remove my butts/shoulders at 190-195 and allow carry over cooking to bring me home. I also do not foil mine. Cooking at a higher temp helps push through the stall.

I only mentioned the smoker because you do not want to over crowd your cook chamber. You will not get proper air flow and will result in uneven cooking. So you may need to batch cook depending on your smoker size.

Good point JarJar!!!Thumbs Up
 
Here's my smoker, its a good size.  This is my first attempt at a butt.  This was on Easter, I had a hard time regulating heat (as you can see it was still winter here).  I would get it to temp (215-225) then it would drop below 200 (sometimes down to 150), so I'd stoke it up, and it would soar right past 225 on its way to 300+.  Kept doing that all day.  Don't know if it was the weather, or my technique.  My pork stalled out at about 185.  It had great flavor, nice and juicy, but couldn't pull it, so I sliced and chopped it.


Here's the finished Pork

 
They will stall! Even in the 180*s, you just have to be patient and wait them out. One way to help push through the stall is to wrap them in foil and add a little liquid to the foil when they get around 160*. You will sacrifice some bark but you will get a faster cook.
Yea at 185* they won't really pull, gotta get to at least 195*.

I'm not sure what brand of smoker that is but search the name in the search bar at the top and you might find some mods you can make that will help with the temp control.
 
I'll throw this in.  

Did you wrap it in foil and let it rest for an hour or 2 after you took it off the smoker?   It will continue to cook and lets the juice soak up in the meat which will make it way more tender.  
 
As stated you can find a lot of info on the site for this smoker. To me it looks a lot like my old Char Griller Outlaw with a few minor differences.

Things i would do first off:

Charcoal basket

Tuning plates under the cook grate

Reliable temp reading equipment. Either a remote maverick style or at least a calibrated dial thermometer.

Operation tricks I found that helped:

Exhaust stays open fully. Use the air intake for the fire box to regulate temp. More air = hotter and less air = cooler. Allow at least 30 min to see what the adjustments bring to the temp. Do not freak out if the temp spikes, just cut the air a bit and see how the temps react.

Do not open the fire box or cook chamber unless you have too. Every time you open them you get a blast of O2 to the fire and your temps will change. You will also let the heat out if you keep opening the cook chamber and this will add time to your cook. Golden Rule; If your lookin, you ain't cookin!!!

Charcoal basket was the biggest help. It kept the charcoal out of the ash and allowed for better temp control.
 
Hey all, so the reunion was a hit, I did 5 butts and my own home made BBQ Sauce! It turned out great, but early morning storms delayed the start time, so i still didn't hit the 200 mark. Had to pull it off at 190 so it could rest in time for the masses to feed, so it was more chopped than pulled, but the flavor was spot on. Here's a couple pics.

 
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